Prince William and Duchess Kate set to launch new mental health initiative

By Zach Harper

July 31, 2019

Prince William and Duchess Kate are launching an exciting
new campaign this Sunday (Aug. 4) that will use Britain’s pastime – soccer – to
help people talk about mental health.

Heads Up is a collaboration between the Football Association
and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Heads Together initiative. Its goal is
to “spark the biggest conversation ever around mental health,” according to the
FA’s
website.

“Heads Up will harness the influence and popularity of
football to help show the nation that we all have mental health, and it is just
as important as physical health,” Kensington Palace
tweeted in announcing the news.

The FA’s website says while British people “won’t go a day
without talking about” soccer, many find talking about mental health – be it
their own, or someone else’s – very difficult.

“With our new campaign… we want everyone to feel comfortable
talking about their mental health, in the same way they would about football,
and feel able to support their friends and families through difficult times,”
the site reads.

“Heads Up will illustrate that everyone should prioritize maintaining
their mental fitness as well as their physical fitness.”

It goes on to say the campaign will provide “resources,
training and direction towards support when needed” during the soccer season.

The campaign will be held over the next year before the FA
Cup Final in 2020, and will particularly target men. Back in May, when the
initiative was first announced, Prince William said he thought men find it “difficult
to talk about” mental health.

“I think emotions, feelings, are kind of like a bit alien
over here – we don’t really want to touch them too much because we’re worried
about how we’re going to react or how people think about us.”

This brings two things close to William’s heart – soccer and
mental health – together. William serves as the President of the FA, and said
in May that he wanted to use the work he and Kate have done on mental wellness
and his position with the soccer body to “help lead the next phase of
conversation.”

The Cambridges have long been passionate about mental
health. Earlier this year, they teamed up with
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan
to launch a new initiative, Shout, that helps young people in crisis. It
is a 24-hour service that connects people with volunteers who help them in
their moment of need, and also assists them with finding long-term support for
their mental health struggles.

These trained volunteers, with support from
professionals, will reply to texts from people potentially struggling with
suicidal thoughts, abuse, self-harm, bullying and other issues related to
relationships. Shout has 1,000 volunteers, and father of three
William hopes to quadruple that number in the year. He has reached out to the
public to help.

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